That settles it for me. I love the style and don't care much for the BJCP style guideline designation American Black Ale. Actually, according to the Hopworks inspiring label, my native state Washington, my present state Oregon, and my favorite Canadian province British Columbia are going to secede from the soon to be formed North American Union (my spin) and form a more perfect beer republic where we will enjoy our beer in the finest PNW traditions.

A-pours a beautiful dark brown, nearly black hue with a two finger light brown head with decent retention and adequate lacing.

S-Aroma is wonderful. Piney and citric hops and roasted barley.

T-Hoppy bitterness is followed by citrusy and resinous notes against a very pleasing black barley roastiness I especially like in this style, notwithstanding some beer advocates think this quality is more like a stout. I love it and will join the CDA secession movement.

M-Just a tad thin and a little dry. I like just a bit more residual sweetness to give a fuller and smoother body.

O-This is very drinkable. I have only seen this once at a grocery store in Wilsonville with a good selection of microbrews. Wish I had bought more. Most stores, including bottle shops, I frequent either never stocked this or were sold out before I had an opportunity to buy. My second favorite CDA so far. And it's ORGANIC! Well done Hopworks.

Somewhat diapointing for the style, as a beer. Fresh bottle from Zyn in Calgary. Black body, high IBU, more roastiness in he flavour. Lacey Lots of really roasty as in burnt parts. Hops and citrus in finish. Lace rings. Grows on me, but I am just OK on it.

22oz bomber, the label displaying a nice painted visual of a geographical representation of Cascadia - weird how there is still a border between WA and OR, but not between WA and BC - hmmm.

This beer pours a clear, rather dark reddish cola hue, with two pudgy fingers of creamy, foamy, and bubbly beige head, which leaves a barely-broken paint job of cobwebbed lace around the glass as everything falls away.

It smells of roasted, almost meaty bready caramel malt, watery pine notes, soft, warm citrus, and a more prominent earthy grassiness. The taste is still big on the roasted caramel malt - now with an additional grainy wheatiness - some dry coffee grounds, faint milky cocoa, and bitter grassy, citrusy, and piney hops.

The carbonation is heady in its forceful frothiness, but not actually overbearing, the body medium weight, a little airy, but fairly smooth overall. It finishes off-dry, the lessened, but still toasty malt getting pushed around by the earthy, piney hop bitterness.

A pretty good Cascadian Dark Ale, representative of the nascent style - balanced, in a high-flying sort of manner, the roasted and coffee flavours adding another dimension to the often bloated malt/hop interplay. Interesting in a distracted way, at least until the next mini style evolution comes loping along.

From a 650ml brown bottle, silkscreen enamel label. Pours out a very dark brown, cola hues when held to direct light. Tall creamy beige head that slowly settles to a thin cap.

Roasty malt and a big dose of leafy citrus hops on the nose.

Roasted malt and bright citrus hops right off the start in the flavour, some coffee notes in the middle, with the dry roasty malt more prominent on the finish while the hops remain ever in the background. Leafy, piney hops get their spotlight in the aftertaste.

A - deep deep deep brown, barely transparent, fluffy mocha head left random sticky lacingS - very fragrant hops with pine and light florals, light nutty chocolaty malt presensceT - hops are pine, floral, and lemon citrus, with a strong backbone of nutty and lightly smoky malt, super tastyM - medium moving to thin and pleasantly bitterO - very flavourful with a hop kick and a strong malt backbone to balance, i could drink this all day

S - Sweet citrus hops, touch of earthiness and an abundance of caramel malts. A roasted nuttiness also seems to come through on the finish.

T - The citrus hops come through nicely off the top with the bitterness lingering and a earthy tasty to them. The malts, although tougher to detect and a little subtle, do provide a backbone of dark roasted espresso and dark cocoa.

M - Medium bodied that goes down extremely smooth and finishes with a touch of dryness. Great feel to it!

O - I quite enjoyed this Cascadian IPA, offering a nice robust amount of hops and a subtle dark malty backbone. Easily drinkable and poundable, full flavoured with a great mouthfeel. Another gem from HUB!

Bomber into a Weyerbacher tulip. Thanks to vonschplieffen for sharing.

A: Clear dark russet body with two fingers of ultra-fine, frothy off-white foam. Great body/head contrast (this really looks like a BIPA/CDA/ABA/etc), as well as retention, with light, spotty lacing left behind. Excellent.

S: Seaweed and oysters; the hops and roast combine into a decidedly briny piquancy. It's interesting, but less than stunning.

T: Piney hops, coffee roast, and clean bitterness. Simple and tasty, with (thankfully) none of the saltiness hinted at in the aroma. Solid.

O: It's nice to see a beer of this style pull of intense flavor without a super-high ABV; too many seem to clock in over 8%, at which point the delicate contrast of flavors can get a little muddled in the heat. The bizarre smell kept this from being a real standout, but it was undoubtedly a tasty brew. I'd have another, although if I find myself in Portland I can guarantee I won't be seeking this one out. If you're a fan of the style (I'm not, although I don't find it offensive or anything), you could do a lot worse.

T: Awesome mix of hop bitternes and a slight smoky malt. Fresh and dry, then a fading grassy or woodiness in the final hop notes. Not a heavy mouthfeel, but would have guessed a high abv. I very much sought to try some of HUB brews.

D: This style is not without it's controversy. Let me declare up front that I am a fan of the style. This beer shows the diversity in a young branch of a new american style. I like the sophisticated blend of piney hop resin and smoky woodiness in the dry clarity of a sweetness void. It's an adult beverage.

goddamn! this is good! pours dark dark brown with a cream color head, in the light you can see a faint hue of cherry red. this looks like a porter. the smell is interesting, it surprised me that it's smell seems faint. hops, and in the back ground..., pot resin. like old, sticky, scrape the pipe resin. weird, but whatever. the flavor is where this wins. this is the best black ipa ive had, black ipas are hit and miss for me but this one is all hit. spicy citrus wet northwest hops, that fade into the smoky malts, then finishes sour with hops again. love it!

A -Dark brown with a half finger of espresso coloured head that disappeared immediately and left some lacing behind.

S -Citrus hops dominate up front with grapefruit and tangerine notes. The roasted malts are barely noticeable in the background. Smells like an IPA (but a really good one)!

T - Bitter hops hit the tongue first - there are grapefruit and piney notes. The malts become noticeable in the middle with some roasted chocolate and smoky notes coming through, followed by more bitterness in the finish, which lingers considerably.

M - Medium body, chewy, lightly carbonated.

D - A great example of the style. Would definitely buy this again if I could.

I saw a segment on TV this morning about the HUB pub so I decided to check it out. I did a sampler of all 10 of their beers on tap and the Secession was the stand-out. It was described as a Cascadian Dark Ale, so I didn't know what to expect because I've never had one. I would call it a black IPA.

One of hopworks' finest! Black with ruby highlights, this beverage is everything a Cascadian Dark should be. I know, I know, it's not what it's officially called anymore. But I like to give props to the home of hops, so it'll always have that home in my mind. Slight chocolate and big pine control your mind. A little bit of toasty. The aroma is not overly complex, but it really doesn't need to be. The more there is, the unhappier this style gets. Roasted is subdued.The flavor is a delight. The silky chocolate and the pine and citrus make for an enchanting beverage. This is one beer I will miss dearly when I leave the left coast. Coats your mouth going down with silky and hoppy delights. Bitter, a bit, yes, but in perfect moderation. Reasonable, and damn delightful.

Pours black with tan head, red hues around the edges, nearly see through except for the center. Smell is subdued, some pine and black malt, but that is about it, almost as much character as a porter. Taste is bitter upfront, some pine and coffee with mango, slight chocolate. Carbonation is high and body is thin enough. Not exactly hoppy, but the flavors do well with eachother; I'll finish the bottle no prob but doubt I'll be back for seconds at the store.

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a clear, deep reddish mahogany color with just a thin cap of tan head that low retention and had good retention.

In the nose, the beer had a floral hop presence up front that faded to roast and finished with some coffee scents. On the tongue the hops played a very reduced role, roast flavors dominated and the beer had an extremely heavy and unpleasant coffee flavor on the finish.

The body was thinner than typical for a style that's not known for for being solid. Drinkability wasn't that enjoyable, mostly due to the heavy roast and coffee.

Overall, a slightly below average example of a style that I'm having a hard time finding much love for. Give it a shot if you see it, or not.

Not only is this beer organic, it is a certified carbon-neutral beer as well ... with the attitude of being a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale). This is PNW style all the way.

Deep dark brown, only a shade or two away from black. Lots of head comes from a healthy pouring. Pleasing citric, hemp-like and minty hop aroma with grilled bread in the back. Hoppiness is certainly the dominant presence here, with lots of herbal, citric, hemp seed, mint and orangey flavors. The bitterness has no problem shouting that it is the boss, though it does cede some ground to the blackness of the beer: Toasted and faintly roasted malt pops out in the middle ... perhaps a hint of unsweetened chocolate here? Light hop resin sticks, even in the aftertaste.

While this beer is screaming that it is indeed an IPA, the darkness brings a lovely fold to a pretty damn stellar beer. Whether a trend or a bona fide beer style, look no further.

Taste is very much like the smell a nice roasted toasty flavor of malts is apparent; there is also a slight sweetness of malts as well. The taste ends with the citrusy flavor of hops and a medium amount of bitterness.

The mouthful of the beer is very smooth like a stout and the carbonation is medium low.

I could have a couple of these because it is well balanced. Over all a decent Indian Black Ale that's better than average.

A- Body is an opaque dark brown hue that pours with a foamy 2 finger off white head. Plenty of lacing is left down the glass.

S- Nose is very earthy, herbal, grassy, and mossy with a hint of roasted malt in the background.

T- Taste is very similar to the smell. This is a hoppy beer indeed-but more the medicinal, herbal remedy, hippie, going green type hop than the bright american hop profile that I am used to. A very faint roasted malt backbone is there-but the highlight here is the hops.

M- Carbonation is soft with a medium weight body.

D- This is probably more earthy than unearthly. Certainly a different, atypical type of IPA. If I was into the more earthy hop I would love this brew-but I like my hoppy beers bright or floral. Still a decent beer overall.

Black with two fingers of tan head and moderate lacings. Smell is citrus hops and coffee chocolate aromas. Taste is like a Very bold stout jacked to a full IPA level. Citrus resinous hops with a full stout malt backing. Weird but tasty. Mouthfeel is on the thin side but the hops just keep washing over the palate. A sweet and slightly bitter semi-dry finish. My first of the Cascadian Black IPA style. I had this following a Lagunitas IPA and this slammed the Lagunitas! Phew! If you like both Stouts and NW IPAs give it a try. I think you will love it.